I have always admired fighting games from the late 90’s to early 2000’s era. From the arcade cabinets to the comfort of my PlayStation, fighting games was the genre for me. Early Capcom installments like Rival Schools, or Marvel vs Capcom 2 had me constantly coming back for more. It was not until much later when I was properly introduced to the competitive scene to my beloved genre. I found myself trying to prove myself online in Capcom’s revitalized Street Fighter IV. I had a wonderful journey with Street Fighter and found myself with the revelation that I could go no further.
My History with the Street Fighter
I wish I could proudly state that I enjoyed Street Fighter from its inception but that is false. I was not even thought of in 1987 when it was released in arcades. My time came in 2008 when I saved my hard-earned high school allowance to buy Street Fighter IV. I had played other fighters like Tekken 3, Soul Calibur 2 and Marvel vs Capcom 2 to name a few. However, none of them grabbed my attention like Street Fighter IV did where it is main selling point was the flashiness. Periodically, War by Sick Puppies played on a commercial showing 2.5D main characters Ryu and Ken fighting on screen. Coupled with impressive moves, pounding music and unique characters, I had to embrace my curiosity.
In the beginning, I had no earthly clue on how to play Street Fighter IV. I loved fighting games as the next fan, yet I always did the universal beginner move; button mashing. It was a massive learning curve to do the inputs for characters as well as understanding how the combos worked. Thankfully, Capcom was gracious enough to include a trial mode for newcomers, yet it did little for me to comprehend. I went hours twirling my analog stick in different motions to get the desired result but to no avail. What is worse is that I tried to fight other players online with my lack of skills and was demolished. I was faced with the harsh reality that fighting games were fun, but they were extremely hard.
The Learning Curve
I distinctly remember going to my local GameStop to trade in my copy of Street Fighter IV. I was frustrated and lacked any common ground with the game that I figured I would give up. After being told the meek financial return of my game, I decided to keep my copy. I had high hopes to properly learn Street Fighter IV and was fortunately granted a second chance. I was introduced to the Capcom business practice of updating an already established game with Super Street Fighter IV. The 2009 update changed key features and added 9 total characters that had me eager to learn. This time around, I had the tools to take my fighting game study seriously.
Aside from using YouTube to listen to music and watch dumb parodies, it was a helpful tutorial source. I fell into the rabbit hole of content that explained prior confusion clearly for me. How to do the inputs I struggled with or dealing with hard matchups were laid out in comprehensible fashion. In addition, I learned how to play the game against other players from Cross Counter TV, Behrudy and Maximillian Dood. Upon my persistent researching, I stumbled upon live tournament footage that invented a new kind of spark with me.
My Competitive Journey
I discovered during my YouTube surfing that other people were competing in games like Super Street Fighter IV. There were other countless games that had their own scenes and communities that had me eager to participate. Aside from fighting the occasional friend, I never fought at a live tournament vs my routine online matchmaking sessions. I went to my first local in North Carolina and was instantly hooked by the experience. The pressure to do well along with the electrical buzz with fighting a person sitting next to you was addicting. It was also comforting to lose a match and talk with the person to learn future techniques to enhance my gameplay.
Besides competing in the Street Fighter IV’s lifespan was the pleasure of being a spectator. Witnessing intense matches and high-level moments made the strive to be a better player even more rewarding. The goal to place in a tournament and eventually get first seemed like an obtainable goal. I had my opportunities to compete in a couple of major tournaments and a good number of local competitions. I even made friends and training partners sharing in the same goal of competing like I did. At that time, I was satisfied with learning and growing my abilities to keep fighting competitively in Street Fighter.
The Encounter of Street Fighter V
2014 was initially a breath of fresh air for my competitive fighting game run. The last update, Ultra Street Fighter IV, invoked a sense of staleness having played the game for years. Tacked on with a devastating 0 – 2 run at Final Round earlier that year, I was spent on Street Fighter IV. It was the arrival of Capcom’s Street Fighter V that gave me the drive to keep going further. The promise of expansive stages, exciting combos and new polished look had me pumped for the new iteration. However, the launch for the upcoming fighting game proved to be a test of will.
The Beginning of the End
While the initial trailers were great, the 2016 launch left much to be desired. The documentation of Street Fighter V’s launch is well documented but is easily summed up. The lack of content with single player modes and lack of characters in comparison to other fighters was disheartening. Although the game had a barebones approach, combos were easier to execute and a demonstration mode was added. My initial troubles of learning how to do the combos via YouTube were accessible through in-game content was a plus. Still, Street Fighter V vanilla version initially lacked not only content but depth between players.
The more I researched competitive fighting game content, I learned that no two players play the same. Each player has an independent style even though the character has their established move list. For example, Guile was the established zoner of the series throwing projectiles and flash kicks to keep his opponents out. However, there were certain players that played Guile more offensively than his establish style. Instead of the freedom that fighting games would naturally give, Street Fighter V was rough and limited. During the base version, the general game plan was overwhelming your opponent or winning with the new V Trigger mechanic.
Many of the problems I had with Street Fighter V was the lack of thought behind each match. It was repeatedly fighting the same style that initially drove me to boredom. Everyone played the same, including me, which in turn dulled my drive to move forward. Along with the fact that Street Fighter V presented a DLC in the form of season passes. I was so accustomed to receiving huge updates with multiple characters that one character every 4 – 6 weeks was tiresome. Each character would bring updates or new match ups that I had to learn that sullied my enjoyment even further. It was then that I realized that I lost sight as to why I found Street Fighter fun.
Conclusion
Out of all video game genres, fighting games will always remain number one for me. I took a break from fighters for about a year in 2017 but returned to play other fighting games. Learning games other games like Guilty Gear, Mortal Kombat and Tekken reclaimed that nostalgic feeling. I did end up coming back to Street Fighter V eventually because of local competition but only for brief periods. I had found that I would much rather play other fighters that offered more freedom of style and depth. Ultimately, a part of me is still hoping to improve myself in the series that influenced my competitive journey. My falling out with Street Fighter is unfortunate, but certainly not the end.
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